Houston County Friends of the Library Newsletter Fall 2011 Message from President Georgette Lipford Five months ago seventy volunteers came together to work at the Seventh Annual Houston Friends of the Library Old Book Sale. In the Georgia Building at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, the volunteers unpacked 2,757 boxes of books onto one hundred tables. Over the three days of the sale roughly 65,000 books were sold. Those are impressive numbers but the number that really counts is $46,020. That s the amount of money the Friends donated to the Houston County Library system from the proceeds of the book sale. This summer Librarians began using a portion of the donation to purchase books and audio books to stock the shelves of the Nola Brantley, Perry and Centerville libraries. You can see the most recent titles on the library s website at www.houpl.org. Follow the link to New Releases. Due to significant budget cuts by both the state and county governments the financial assistance provided by the Friends is critical for Houston County libraries. The library system s 2011 budget was cut five percent by the county and eight percent by the state. The fiscal year 2012 state budget cut will be $51,205. These scary numbers mean less money for the purchase of books and audio books from the expected sources. The Friends annual donation provides for purchases that otherwise would not be possible. The Friends are already planning the 2012 Old Book Sale with the expectation of exceeding the amount of the 2011 donation. Until then patrons can support the Friends and the libraries by shopping at the Book Nook operated by the Friends in each branch library. VHS movies, record albums and paperback books sell for $.50 and hardbacks sell for $1.00. A wide variety of magazines are available at $.25 each. Great bargains can often be found on encyclopedia sets and textbooks. Friendly prices such as these typically add up to revenue for the library system of about $1,000 each year. And that s a nice number too. Friends of the Library Monthly Meeting Schedule 2011-2012 All meetings at 6:30 P.M. 1st Tuesday of the Month September 6: Nola Brantley October 4: Perry November 1: Centerville December 6: Nola Brantley January 3: Perry February 7: Centerville March 6: Nola Brantley April 3: Perry April 24: Centerville (Extra meeting for OBS Planning) May 2012 Wrap up Meeting: Time and location to be announced June, July, August: No meetings Book Work Sessions General Info The Book Headquarters (HQ) location is the same as last year. We are located in the Big Lots Shopping Center on Watson Blvd. The entrance is in the alley behind the shopping center near the Citi Trends store. Contact President, Georgette Lipford, mglipford@cox.net or V-P Pam Yates at pamyates@cox.net for the exact location of the entrance door. Regular work sessions continue on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, starting at 9:30 each morning and ending about 11:30 or 12 noon. Remember, if you do not arrive at the standard starting time for each session you will need to call someone s cell phone to gain entrance. You cannot be heard by the volunteers by only knocking on the outside door. Numbers to call include: 952-6493 Pam Yates 955-4797 Sharon Sullivan 213-5000 Georgette Lipford (Saturdays only) Social Media and the Libraries Houston County Public Libraries are now available on Social Media. Follow the libraries on Twitter @Houpl. Like the libraries on facebook at Houston County (GA) Public Libraries. Discuss issues with the libraries on their blog at http://houpl.wordpress.com.
Proceeds from the 2011 Sale Donations Needed (Karen Odom, Assistant Director, accepting on behalf of Perry; Nancy Granger, Centerville Librarian, and Lucas Franklin, Nola Brantley Libarian) At the May 17, 2011, meeting of the Houston County Friends of the Library, Treasurer Sharon Sullivan, presented $15,340 checks to each of the branch librarians for a total of $46,020 to the library system. Nancy Granger, Centerville Public Library branch manager, reports that they are not spending any of their Friends money at this time. They still have SPLOST money to spend for the new branch. Mrs. Granger states that she anticipates that they will have spent all of the SPLOST money before the end of the fiscal year, and then they will depend on Friends money to finish out the year. Nyisha Ferguson, branch manager, reports that they have been spending their Friends money to purchase new juvenile non-fiction titles, young adult fiction and non-fiction titles, and adult non-fiction titles. Lucas Franklin, branch manager of the Nola Brantley Memorial Library, reports that they have been purchasing books on all reading levels in addition to audiobooks and DVDs. They are also using SPLOST money to add to their juvenile non-fiction collection. 2 The Friends of the Library collect material all year round for their annual book sale. Bring your gently used books to any of the libraries. Look for the Friends of the Library Book Donations boxes. Place your books and other print donations into the donation boxes. Please take audio books, video tapes, DVDs, computer software, and other possibly breakable items into the libraries and give them to staff with the message that the items are for the Friends sale. Red donation boxes are located at the rear entrance at the Nola Brantley library. Dark grey donation boxes are at the main entrance in Centerville. In Perry, the donation boxes are red and located at the rear of the building. For pickup of large donations, call any library and leave a request. The library staff will forward your request to the Friends. Membership Dues If you are not currently a member of the Houston County Friends of the Library, become a member now. Membership is good for one year. Dues are $5 for individuals, $8 for military families, $10 for other families, $50 for patron/corporate, or $100 for life membership. Membership applications are available in all three branches and will be available on the friends webpage in the near future. If you are a current member, be aware that all memberships need to be renewed in April. For your membership you receive free admission to the preview sale, $2 off on the price of a book bag, the FOL newsletter and the opportunity to help your local libraries with your money, your time, and your book donations. Follow Us on Twitter @Houpl
Friends of Georgia Libraries (FOGL) Friends of Georgia Libraries scheduled their annual fall workshop for October 22, 2011. Thetheme this year was A Is for Author. The workshop instructed members in how to apply for FOGL's new members-only Author Grant and how to stage an Awesome Event. The luncheon speaker was Patricia Sprinkle, author of Friday's Daughter. Patricia is author of twenty mysteries, four novels and five non-fiction books, including the Thoroughly Southern Mystery Series, the Family Tree Genealogy Series, and the Sheila Travis Mysteries. The Mission of FOGL is: 1) to create an informed statewide voice for Georgia s libraries through a grassroots network of citizens who communicate the value of libraries as essential community services, and, 2) to strengthen the ability of local Friends organizations to support their libraries. Like Us on Facebook Houston County (GA) Public Libraries Websites of Interest Houston County Public Library www.houpl.org Houston County Friends of the Library www.houpl.org/html/friends.htm Georgia Public Libraries www.georgialibraries.org Georgia Center for the Book www.georgiacenterforthebook.org Discuss with us at http://houpl.wordpress.com branch manager, Nyisha Ferguson, reports that the Perry library continues to host events on writing for home schooled children. This month they are doing creative writing. In November, they will be working on a graphic novel. Other special events taking place in Perry include a teen costume contest during Teen Read Week and costume parties for preschools the last week in October. Workshops for adults include a Holiday Photography workshop on November 1 and a Workshop on Making Homemade Soap on November 15. Addition news from the Perry library is that they have a new children s librarian, Yolanda Young. Centerville Public Library Centerville Branch Manager Nancy Granger reports that they are having a home school program every week. They have been working on science projects; they ve hatched a butterfly and learned about planets. The next project will be a study of Greek mythology. On October 22, teens were invited to a Greek God Costume Contest at a Percy Jackson & the Olympians celebration. There were games to see how well the teens know the Percy Jackson series and a prize drawing for a copy of the book, The Son of Neptune. Adults are invited to hear professional storyteller, Jan Cribbs, on October 25. Jan will be telling ghost stories collected by Kathryn Tucker Windham. Adults interested in attending need to sign up at the library in advance since space is limited. 3
Nola Brantley Memorial Library Lucas Franklin, Nola Brantley branch manager, reports that a genealogy lock-in is planned for October 27. Patrons who want to know more about genealogy are asked to arrive at the library just before closing. After the library is closed, library staff members and genealogical society members will assist the patrons with doing research online. On October 25, the library will hold a Wii Night for Teens. The library will have two televisions hooked up with Wii gaming. While other teens are waiting their turn to play, they can peruse young adult books and graphic novels available in the room. For October, the library has a display for National Stamp Collecting Month. On October 17, stamp collector, Andy Rodriguez, presented a program on stamp collecting for children aged 6 to 13. Flint Award Story Times at the Libraries Centerville Public Library Lapsit (9-24 months) Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Toddler Time (2-3 years) Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Preschool (3-5 years) Thursday at 11:15 a.m. Home School Groups Wednesday at 2 p.m. Every 1 st Tuesday (all ages) Bedtime Stories at 6:30 p.m. Every 1 st Friday Special Needs Group at 10:30 a.m. Nola Brantley Memorial Library Lapsit (0-24 months) Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Toddler Time (2-3 years)wednesdayat 10:30 a.m. Preschool (4-5 years) Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. Lapsit (12-24 months) Monday at 10:30 a.m. Toddler Time (2-3 years)mondayat11a.m. Preschool (3-5 years) Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Home School Groups Thursday at 11:15 a.m. 2 nd Tuesday of every other month (all ages) bedtime stories at 6 p.m. Seen at the Libraries (Pam Yates, vice president of the Houston County Friends of the Library, accepts a $2500 check from Flint Energies Foundation) The Houston County Friends of the Library applied for a grant from the Flint Energies Foundation. On May 12, Pam Yates represented the Friends at the check presentation ceremony. The money from the grant will be used to help defray the costs of advertising future book sales. Have you seen these guys at the libraries? 4
Report from Pam Yates, Library Board Member I am bursting to tell you about the progress that your Library Board is taking to begin renovations to Nola Brantley. A new uplift has been needed for a long time. The Board decided to use the SPLOST money we have on hand to start changes. We have no idea (and more than likely not) whether the State of Georgia would match any of our funds. So last month we hired an architectural firm in Atlanta to evaluate possible upgrades to Nola. The library will be able to remain open as they work on these improvements: The biggest plus is they recommend moving the library entrance to the back of the building (where all the parking is located). This works very well at Centerville and everyone will soon realize they should use the back to enter. This frees up space in the front at the Watson area for expansion. The front facade would be upgraded and modernized on Watson. Relocation of the circulation and reference desk towards the new main entry. Rework walls to make more usable space. Revise staff offices and enhance break room for library staff. Dedicate a server room. Make new finishes on ceilings, floor coverings, paint walls and add wall coverings. Place a suspended ceiling system in the area with the exposed structure. Replace the ceiling in the original building. Reconfigure computer use area and reading room seating. Enhance the Local History Room. Replace lighting and use more current technology for energy efficient lamps and fixtures. Change or replace to improve the heating and cooling of the entire building. We have about $2.2 Million to perform this construction. We hope to have actual construction plans by December so they might actually begin working in January 2012. Stay tuned. 5